She wandered hopelessly in search for Reeze. Where had he gone? She didn’t have a set path, but instead allowed her feet to lead her through the never-ending maze of the palace hallways. It wasn’t until she was staring at a familiar statue that she realized she was in the royal garden. Kaia looked up, barely able to make out her balcony railing.

With a soft sigh, Kaia looked around her. The garden didn’t seem as mysterious or beautiful as it had in the twilight or even from afar. Up close she noticed a bunch of weeds growing haywire. Kaia smiled. Adjacent to her was they mystery plant that they had eaten earlier for breakfast. She walked closer to the statue. The little girl the statue depicted was strangely familiar . . . Then it hit her–it was the very image of the little girl that had appeared from the Tiruv.

“That’s Lynn,” Derek’s voice called out from afar.

Kaia whisked around. Derek’s muscular form appeared before her. His green eyes were no longer gleaming with mischief, and the sly grin no longer on his face. He was strangely serious.

“Who?” Kaia asked.

“Lynn. She’s the goddess of water, health, and medicine. Well, she wasn’t our original god of water and medicine,” he said sheepishly. “The original god would be her father. Lynn’s symbol is a tear drop. Do you know why?” He glanced at her.

Kaia shook her head.

He smiled fondly at her. “Lynn’s father fell in love with a nymph. When he passed away, Lynn was heir to his power and position, however,” he sucked in a heavy breath, “she earned that position during terrible times. Demigods began taking over the lands. They murdered everyone who stood up to them. We merfolk thought we were safe from the chaotic lands if we just stayed in our own cities. But we were wrong.

“Nearly everything was destroyed. Half of our population was cut down. Aquaterra, our capital, was no longer safe. The royal family fled here, to Aquabella. I saw my family murdered by the demigods. The demigods had studied the Ancient Arts and were able to breathe underwater effortlessly as if they had lived under water all their lives. Lynn, having seen the destruction cried. Her tears healed the wounded and somehow broke the demigods’ spells. They died in their watery graves.”

“How did they cause so much damage? Were there a lot of them?”

Derek’s eyes hardened. “No. There weren’t a lot of them at all. Maybe thirty. Maybe less.”

“So how did they cause so much damage?”

“They look like regular people, but since one of their parents is a god, they inherit their powers. Some use elemental powers, others are experts at weapons or school. It just depends on what kind of god their parent is. They tend to have one other quality about them too. Some are beautiful, some are trusting, and some are exceptionally bright. But no matter what kind of quality it is, it’s always inhuman.”

“Was Recla’s mother . . . murdered?” Kaia asked. She had just realized that no sign of a queen having lived or was living there was at the palace.

Derek smiled brightly. “You’re not too familiar with the old stories and history are you? It would take more than a few demigods to kill the queen. She’s back at Aquaterra, overseeing the reconstruction of our oceanic cities. The king is here in Aquabella overseeing the reconstruction of the freshwater cities. She’s coming by to check up on the progress tomorrow. That’s why the king is so ‘busy’ that he can’t attend something as trivial as a ball. They’re quite devoted to each other.”

Kaia looked at the statue. How had a goddess appeared out of the Tiruv? Was she really the Chosen One?

“I think it was seventy-seven years ago.” He looked at her questionably. “Is something wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Kaia blushed adding a tinge of color to her pale face. “It’s nothing. I’m going to go and check on Catrina –”

“Want me to swim you up to your room? It’ll be faster. It’s that balcony, right?”

He didn’t allow her to answer. Within an instant he held her close to his chest and torpedoed up toward her balcony. She felt uncomfortable being that close to him, and yet was thrilled to be moving at such a break neck speed. The ride was over far too fast, and he place her gently down on her balcony. He gave her a comedic salute and torpedoed back down just as Reeze opened the door.

About the author:

A neek at heart, Sheenah Freitas has a love for the whimsical and

magical. She looks to animated Disney movies and Studio Ghibli films for inspiration because of the innovative twists on fairytales, strong story

structures and character studies.

When not writing, you might find her in a forest where she’s yet to find any enchanted castles.

Thank you for stopping by Snowdrop Dreams. You will mostly find book reviews, challenges, memes, blog tours and giveaways. I've been slowly updating my blog to be more about everything in my life instead of just books, as reading and reviewing is only a portion of who I am.

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Disclosure:

The books reviewed on this blog have been purchased by myself, borrowed from library, gifted by family/friends or were supplied for honest review. I do not receive compensation of any kind for my reviews. I do however receive a tiny portion of the purchase price when you click the links that I am affiliated with: Amazon, Chapters, & The Book Depository. These funds help to support giveaways on this blog.